Feature: Desert Stormer
October 1, 2007
Resplendent in a blazing shade of
metallic orange, the Range Stormer caused a sensation when it debuted at
Detroit’s North American International Auto Show in January of 2004. The first
concept car Land Rover had ever presented to the public, the two-door SUV
sported unexpected design elements—like scissor-style doors and a glass
roof—which, according to Land Rover’s former design director Geoff Upex,"
helped the design team challenge established views of Land Rover vehicles, while
remaining true to the company’s fundamental design values." A rakish precursor
to the Range Rover Sport, the fashion-forward Range Stormer prepared customers
for a Land Rover that emphasized on-road prowess over off-road ability.
At least one observer—the scion of a royal family from one of
the United Arab Emirates—became enamored with the Range Stormer. Unfortunately,
the original—now on display at the Land Rover Design Centre in Gaydon,
England—was, predictably, not for sale. So His Royal Highness (HRH) did the next
best thing: he purchased a Range Rover Sport and asked Ryan Friedlinghaus of
West Coast Customs (WCC) to transform it into a near facsimile of the Range
Stormer show car.
In the mid-1990s, Friedlinghaus began his career with a focus on suspension
tuning. But commissions at his Orange County, Calif., shop soon expanded to
other customization areas. "Every time I built a car, I had to send it from shop
to shop to shop," he says. "But when you rely on outsourcing, it never works
out. There’s always a limited time frame, and no one cares about your customer
like you do." With the patronage of automotive aficionados like Shaquille
O’Neal—for whom Friedlinghaus has built approximately 30 cars—it took only a few
years for Friedlinghaus to achieve his goal of a full in-house operation.
Then, with the success of his reality show Pimp My Ride,
Friedlinghaus became nearly as famous as his illustrious clientele. However, the
show was a mixed blessing: While it gave a serious boost to WCC’s profile, it
reached the wrong demographic. Pimp
My Ride’s lowbrow nature—episodes center on
the quirky, Cinderella-style transformations of broken-down jalopies—did not
accurately reflect the serious projects his shop typically undertook. "It
made my business known," he says. "But it made my brand very weak."
His usual customers started taking their business elsewhere—one
with the snarky explanation that he didn’t need a toaster in his car—and
Friedlinghaus says he eventually chose to end his association with the MTV
production over the image crisis. "I got out on top, with good ratings and name
recognition," he affirms.
Despite its reality television struggles, WCC was a natural
choice for the Range Stormer project. Friedlinghaus, who previously customized a
Hummer H2 for the HRH’s sister, had an existing relationship with the royal
family. And the family had the added convenience of placing an order through
WCC’s regional showroom in Dubai.
Nevertheless, the commission experienced complications. Among
the problems—none of the people working on the project had ever seen the actual
Range Stormer. "We saw an image in our head, and they had an image in their
head," says WCC marketing director Alex Anderson. "It’s hard to build something
we’ve never seen in person. We built that car off renderings, sketches and
pictures." To be sure they were getting everything right, WCC staff needed more
on-the-fly interaction than a typical project required. "There would be e-mails
three times a week, and then there’d be days with 10 e-mails." Another issue:
Weekends on the Saudi Arabian peninsula fall on Friday and Saturday. "You’d send
an e-mail on Thursday and they’d call you on Sunday," says Anderson. "The
culture—the way they do things—is totally different."
Additionally, Friedlinghaus contended with a tight deadline.
"We had to handcraft everything, and complete the project in eight weeks," he
says. "At least four or five guys on my staff logged 18 hours a day." The
comprehensive program included extending the front doors by 15 inches,
eliminating the rear doors, crafting steel bumpers and fender flares and
creating an aluminum hood scoop. WCC also raked the windshield, chopped the roof
by 2 inches and installed a reinforced polycarbonate roof panel. "The roof is
definitely a cool deal," he says. "I always wanted to do a glass roof, and you
can’t tell it’s there from the side profile." Twenty-two inch Asanti wheels,
Brembo brakes, a Gibson dual exhaust and custom LED driving lights round out the
WCC specification.
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